1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a cut resistant yarn comprising staple fibers, a process for making the yarn, products comprising the yarn, and a process for making the products.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cut resistant products, such as garments, comprising cut resistant yarns are known. When in the form of garments such products are typically intended to protect a wearer from being cut, and may be used by persons working in for example the meat industry, the metal industry and the wood industry. Cut resistance can be usefully applied to all types of garments, especially those used as workwear and/or sportswear garments. Examples of garments that can be usefully adapted to be cut resistant include gloves, aprons, shirts, vests, jackets, trousers, cuffs, sleeves, overalls, sportsuits such as iceskating or cycling suits etc.
Cut resistant yarns are known and include yarns containing filaments of aramid, ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMwPE) or polybenzoxazole. WO2008/046746, the content of which document is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, discloses a cut resistant yarn comprising a hard component in the form of a plurality of hard fibers having an average diameter of at most 25 micron. It is discussed therein that cut-resistant garments can be usefully made from the yarns.
Currently available cut resistant garments suffer the problem that they can be uncomfortable to wear, and more seriously can reduce freedom of movement, e.g. dexterity when wearing gloves, due to unacceptable weight and/or flexibility at desired cut resistance levels. It is very important that a garment have good wear comfort, since wearers may have to wear the garments for considerable periods of time while maintaining high levels of productivity. If a garment is not comfortable then wearers tend to suffer fatigue and may even refrain from donning such a protective garment, thus leading to higher accident risks.
WO2010/089410 discusses a cut resistant composite yarn and products, e.g. garments, comprising such a yarn. An embodiment of the composite yarn comprises an elastic filament wrapped in a cut resistant yarn to form a sheath around the elastic filament.
Although such yarns and products offer excellent wearer comfort and freedom of movement, it remains desirable to provide further yarns and garments that offer adequate cut resistance while showing good comfort levels.